Smiths Delhi Major clock repair - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

beery · 18th Jun 2017, 1:06 am

Hi All,

A sort out of all my electric clock parts a couple of years ago lead to the rediscovery of a Smiths Delhi Major bakelite wall clock.
It was amongst loads of GENTS GPO slave and mains clocks and I didn't know I had it. It probably came from the telecom scrapyard where I had a Saturday job back in my school days (which was were all the GENTS clocks came from).

Anyway, the clock was put to one side as it had no dial glass. When I was looking for a supplier for the glass on my HMV 905 I decided to get some new glass for my clock at the same time. I found a shop in Leyton that cut me a 12.5" circle of 3mm float glass for about £6 IIRC (I had to go elsewhere for the HMV glass though).

The poor old clock dial was in a state though. Clearly it had been run for a long time with broken glass and bent hands. The bent hands had scraped black rings on the dial.
Having had bad experiences in the past with clock dials and solvents I decided upon a different approach. I was able to rub all the marks off by using a pencil eraser between the numerals. Eventually the whole face got this treatment. Slight shiney marks were left by the eraser, but with the dial glass in place they are hard to spot. Anyway it turned out better than I had hoped.

I cleaned a load of paint from the bakelite case, first with scraping and then with T cut. I used clear shoe polish to finish it.
I cleaned and lubricated the clock's 'banjo' mechanism and then it was complete.
The clock was then mothballed again for a while as there was nowhere to put it.

Having recently moved I had the chance to install it in the kitchen. It looks huge! The smoothly sweeping second hand is a bit spooky though, it seems to give a sense of life passing by...

The first photo shows the dial with after the hands had been straightened, but before the black rings had been cleaned off.
The second photo shows the completed clock hanging in the kitchen having been fitted with lovely double insulated cotton covered twisted wire. It is great that this kind of wire is fashionable again.

Cheers
Andy

Reelman · 18th Jun 2017, 1:10 am

That's lovely Andy.

BTW Until I was 12 I lived in Newport then Forrest road in Leyton.

Peter

Robsradio · 18th Jun 2017, 8:32 pm

Clock looks lovely

A Saturday job in a telecom scrapyard sounds like it would have been heaven, I hate to think how many Gent slaves, PO36 and 46 clocks I might have owned now if i had!

Nickthedentist · 19th Jun 2017, 9:33 am

That looks wonderful, Andy. This is a model that's been reproduced by several companies recently, a really iconic design.

I will try to remember your handy tip about using a rubber to remove marks from the dial.

I would second what Rob says about your schoolboy job - you lucky chap!

I rescued a couple of these from the General Hospital in Birmingham when it was being converted into the Childrens Hospital. They were mounted back-to-back and hung from the ceiling, both stopped at the same time, so I assumed their supply had been disconnected I was about to hack through their wires with a pair of sidecutters when I realised that the their movements were nice and warm. The penny then dropped that they were not self-starting, and I hastily found something to use as a screwdriver to safely release the clock connector instead.

18th Jun 2017, 1:06 am	#1
beery Heptode Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Ware, Hertfordshire, UK. Posts: 988	Smiths Delhi Major clock repair Hi All, A sort out of all my electric clock parts a couple of years ago lead to the rediscovery of a Smiths Delhi Major bakelite wall clock. It was amongst loads of GENTS GPO slave and mains clocks and I didn't know I had it. It probably came from the telecom scrapyard where I had a Saturday job back in my school days (which was were all the GENTS clocks came from). Anyway, the clock was put to one side as it had no dial glass. When I was looking for a supplier for the glass on my HMV 905 I decided to get some new glass for my clock at the same time. I found a shop in Leyton that cut me a 12.5" circle of 3mm float glass for about £6 IIRC (I had to go elsewhere for the HMV glass though). The poor old clock dial was in a state though. Clearly it had been run for a long time with broken glass and bent hands. The bent hands had scraped black rings on the dial. Having had bad experiences in the past with clock dials and solvents I decided upon a different approach. I was able to rub all the marks off by using a pencil eraser between the numerals. Eventually the whole face got this treatment. Slight shiney marks were left by the eraser, but with the dial glass in place they are hard to spot. Anyway it turned out better than I had hoped. I cleaned a load of paint from the bakelite case, first with scraping and then with T cut. I used clear shoe polish to finish it. I cleaned and lubricated the clock's 'banjo' mechanism and then it was complete. The clock was then mothballed again for a while as there was nowhere to put it. Having recently moved I had the chance to install it in the kitchen. It looks huge! The smoothly sweeping second hand is a bit spooky though, it seems to give a sense of life passing by... The first photo shows the dial with after the hands had been straightened, but before the black rings had been cleaned off. The second photo shows the completed clock hanging in the kitchen having been fitted with lovely double insulated cotton covered twisted wire. It is great that this kind of wire is fashionable again. Cheers Andy Attached Thumbnails __________________ www.youtube.com/user/andyvalve100

18th Jun 2017, 1:10 am	#2
Reelman Octode Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Rotherham, South Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 1,719	Re: Smiths Delhi Major clock repair That's lovely Andy. BTW Until I was 12 I lived in Newport then Forrest road in Leyton. Peter

18th Jun 2017, 8:32 pm	#3
Robsradio Heptode Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Isle of Wight, UK. Posts: 557	Re: Smiths Delhi Major clock repair Clock looks lovely A Saturday job in a telecom scrapyard sounds like it would have been heaven, I hate to think how many Gent slaves, PO36 and 46 clocks I might have owned now if i had!

19th Jun 2017, 9:33 am	#4
Nickthedentist Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oxford, UK. Posts: 17,839	Re: Smiths Delhi Major clock repair That looks wonderful, Andy. This is a model that's been reproduced by several companies recently, a really iconic design. I will try to remember your handy tip about using a rubber to remove marks from the dial. I would second what Rob says about your schoolboy job - you lucky chap! I rescued a couple of these from the General Hospital in Birmingham when it was being converted into the Childrens Hospital. They were mounted back-to-back and hung from the ceiling, both stopped at the same time, so I assumed their supply had been disconnected I was about to hack through their wires with a pair of sidecutters when I realised that the their movements were nice and warm. The penny then dropped that they were not self-starting, and I hastily found something to use as a screwdriver to safely release the clock connector instead.